Friday, November 22, 2013

Documentary Review: T. rex Exposed 1991

Today is usually a movie day, but I do like to change things up. That’s
right, this week I’m doing a documentary. This one I remember a long time ago,
catching it as a re-run when I was six years old. I watched it on VHS over and
over, and it can only be found today in VHS form or on Youtube from a grainy
transfer. This is a Nova Episode called T.rex Exposed. Nova continues to be one
of my favorite shows, exploring scientific concerns while most other shows
prefer sensationalism or are replaced by reality TV. In the 90s, even before Jurassic Park, dinosaurs were popular enough for
their own episodes.

While many programs are completely shameless in their focus on Tyrannosaurus
rex, this one begins by noting it. Clips from Planet of the Dinosaurs and One
Million BC showing Tyrannosaurs (and allosaurs) attacking humans segue to
author Don Lessem walking the badlands of Montana. Lessem will act as narrator and
host, and his nonchalance is a nice step from hyperbole and he provides a link
to all the talking heads.

The focus of the program is a newly discovered Tyrannosaurus skeleton, found
by Kathy Wankel. Wankel is interviewed and the dig site become the focal point.
She described her accidental discovery of the first complete forelimb of a
Tyrannosaurus rex, and how she contacted the Museum of the Rockies
about this fantastic find.The main
character then shifts from Wankel to Pat Leiggi of the Museum, leading a dig on
the main Tyrannosaurus body. The more famous director of the museum, Jack
Horner, is shown studying the area’s palaeoecology and the surrounding rock.
The basics of Palaeontology are explained as Don Lessem uses a coyote
carcass to describe the process of fossilization. It is a basic concept, but
not every viewer is going to be paleontologically literate and it is crucial
information. This also proves to be a weak point, as I’ll discuss in the
conclusion.

Footage from Phil Tippet’s Prehistoric Beast segues into Robert Bakker (one
of my heroes) at the Carnegie
Museum. Bakker explains
the adaptations in the skull of Tyrannosaurus; the powerful jaws, the serrated
and sturdy teeth, and theforward-facing
eyes and ears. A counterpoint is present with Jack Horner expressing his doubts
that a dinosaur with tiny limbs like a Tyrannosaurus could possibly be an
effective predator-“They don’t make very good sense as a predator” Bakker,
however, seems to win the argument, as he uses ecological analogues in modern
predators to point out that Tyrannosaurus could have both scavenged and
predated.

There is a comparison between the dynamic Tyrannosaurus mount in the Denver museum and the
Godzilla-esque one that used to be at the Carnegie museum. The history of the
specimen is explained; Henry Fairfield Osborn, director of the museum, imagined
Tyrannosaurus as a dynamic predator, and wanted to pose his skeleton in combat
against another of its own kind. The bones proved too heavy for such a mount,
and until the mid 2000s remained in an erect, static pose. Now, Osborn’s vision
has been realized as the new mounts are of two Tyrannosaurus in confrontation
over a carcass.

The next controversy is that of speed and agility. Bakker argues that the
muscular legs of a Tyrannosaurus, with the overbuilt thighs, indicate a fast
runner. Jim Farlow disagrees, and goes through the various ways people can
infer dinosaur speed and agility. First is by trackways, and he uses an emu
track to explain the procedure (in the most memorable moment for me, the emu
runs over the cameraman during its flight). Second is through weight estimates,
which leads to a big question mark for Farlow, while Bakker insists that the
muscles of Tyrannosaurus could have propelled it at dangerous speeds. The coda
is given by Horner, who explains that speculation, debate, and disagreement are
all healthy parts of science in general and paleontology in particular.

We return to the site, where Leiggi explains more basic paleontology.
Fossils are first exposed so that the outline of the fossil matrix is
established. Then, shellac, resin and plaster are used to protect the fossils
from the elements. He then goes on to explain the position of the fossils and
how they got there-the science of taphonomy in other words. For example, the
Larson Tyrannosaurus was buried in a running stream, and currents carried away
small pieces, dislocated the limbs and mandible, but prevented predators from
completely dismembering the fossils. He comes to the conclusion that the Wankel
specimen is “The most complete Tyrannosaurus rex ever found”.

There is another digression about the mysteries of Tyrannosaurus and co,
this time about the mystery skull in Cleveland.
Bakker explains the significance of genera and species, and how those are
determined anatomically. The Cleveland
skull is taken through a CAT scan and digitally replicated as a 3D model on the
computer. Bakker and the other watching scientists note that all the sutures on
the top of the skull are fused, marking it as an adult and such a new genus.
Still today the scientific community is arguing, with Horner, Thomas Carr,
Thomas Holtz, and Michael Henderson coming to the conclusion that this form is
a juvenile Tyrannosaurus, while Bakker, Phillip Currie, and Peter Larson
arguing strongly for the new species Nanotyrannus.

There is a brief (not brief enough for me) interlude in which a storm takes
the dig site and the fossil is protected by tarps.

The next segment is on dinosaurs in pop culture. Clips from newspapers, the
1925 Lost World, 1915’s Brute Force, 1933’s King Kong, One Million Years BC,
the cartoon Dino Riders and a TV commercial for the toys, and the claymation
Dinosaurs! A Fun Filled Trip Back in Time are shown to illustrate the
popularity of dinosaurs in general and Tyrannosaurus in particular. Author Don
Glut (another one of my heroes, by the way) explains why Tyrannosaurus and
other dinosaurs are popular-they’re bizarre, they’re scary, they’re big, and
they’re absolutely real. They’re frightening enough to get your attention, but
dead so we can’t be truly afraid. We know enough about them to get names and
ideas and concepts, but not enough to prevent speculation. Dinosaurs are food
for the imagination, and Bakker says that this is what makes science so fun.

Jim Farlow and Mary Dawson of the Carnegie
Museum express caveats,
however. Palaeontology is often simplified or distorted by the media, and
people always focus on the exotic or spectacular rather than the well-known. People
often belittle paleontology compared to other sciences, and science itself is
often marginalized by politics, economic concerns, and just plain entertainment.
The nature of palaeontology is distorted so that people only get one part of
the picture of what is a complex, very broad, always conflicting and changing,
and very slow field of study.Dawson points out that,
for example, we know much more about Miocene rodents than we do Tyrannosaurus,
but people would rather hear about Tyrannosaurus because it’s big and scary and
popular. Bakker explains the paradigm: paleontology is not that big because it
ultimately isn’t going to advance technology, or medicine, or civilization or
make money, but people study it because it’s interesting and fun. “The reason
we study dinosaurs is because we’re curious”, he says. This marginalization,
however, makes it hard; Horner points out that paleontology is not as well funded
as physical sciences or medicine, and it does not pay well for all the effort
involved.

The next scene back to the find shows the plastering, excavation, and
lifting out of the fossil. Heavy machines carefully pull out the fossils
placing them in beds, and the beds in turn are put on trucks for transport to
the lab.

Another scene from Prehistoric Beast brings us to the last vignette; the
inevitable talk about dinosaur extinction. The iridium layers and K-Pg boundary
are shown, and there is a primer on the asteroid impact at the end of the
Cretaceous. There is a segment with the late Keith Rigby, going through
microfossils to prove his own theory. He argues that the dinosaurs were already
on their way out when the impact came, and the impact changed nothing, with
dinosaurs continuing to exist into the Palaeocene. He points out that among the
many tiny bones, there are sharp dinosaurian-looking teeth.Horner provides another counterpoint with the
taphonomical concerns: environmental forces may have placed older material in
younger layers, and that teeth are by no place conclusive. “We need a complete
specimen”. Rigby says that he will continue to look for a complete specimen,
but is confident in his theory.

The final cut to the skeleton brings it to the present (at the time of the
show), in the lab of the museum of the Rockies.
Labwork is also done on the arms, showing a great deal of strength in the small
limbs, and Horner vows to determine their practical use. A brief picture is
shown of the discovery of the now famous “Sue” specimen, simply described as a
new, complete, and huge Tyrannosaurus. Dixon
illustrates geological time with his arm; human history is reduced to a
fingernail in comparison. He ends the show with the attitude that palaeontology
is a never-ending story, and that there are always more discoveries to be made
and mysteries to be solved

Watching this now, I still like it. Dixon is likeable and nonchalant, clearly
interested in the subject but not hyperbolic or hijacking the show. The talking
heads are the great scientists of the day, and excellent editing illustrates
the points of contention and debate. For every statement, there is usually a
counterstatement, and this is all part of science. Instead of the CGI
re-enactments of today, the dinosaur is illustrated with film clips and simple
film of the mounts, letting them speak for themselves and the paleontologists
tell the story. It was from documentaries like these that I first learned about
Bakker, Horner, Farlow and company, and they became my heroes.

Of course, this show is not flawless. There are always two
pet-peeves of mine in terms of documentaries. One in the obsession with the
mystery of dinosaur extinction; there have been so many documentaries made on
it that they dwarf any other issue in palaeontology. The second is the dull
filming of the dig itself. Fieldwork is essential, but it’s very boring.
There’s only so much footage of guys picking away with chisels in the desert
and cranes lifting plaster-covered rocks that I can take. Once I’ve seen it, I
don’t need to see it again, and I’m sure most paleontologists would like to
skip the grueling work in the hot sun. Perhaps it’s filmed for “human
interest”, or showing that paleontologists are tough and macho. Either way, I
must rather prefer watching the experts talking about the animals rather than
kneeling in the dirt.

About Me

Hi everyone! You may know me already, but 99% of you won't. I've decided to make a blog for myself. I'm a anthropology student who has returned to his original passion for palaeontology. Ever since I was little, I've been fascinated with the weird and wonderful animals that have inhabited our planet and I've made this blog to keep this in my mind and hopefully in yours. Most people blog about their interests, and while I've got a range of interests-see history and anthropology above, not to mention zoology, astronomy, art, cooking, science fiction and fantasy films and literature, and a myriad of others, the one I want to do for a living is the study of Earth's ancient past.

On this blog I'll review papers, talk about fossils, museums, and taxa, review art, film, literature, and our culture's view of paleontology, and share memories and insights. I've been inspired by the far better blogs of professional palaeontologists, and I'll share them as time goes on. I'm also open to requests and questions of opinions, the latest palaeo news, and discussions with other fans informal and professional.

I think this is going to have fun, and I'm hoping my readers will have just as much fun.

Copyright: All media and print reviewed belongs to the owners and publishers. Likewise, all art used for this blog belongs to their artists. This is a non-profit blog for education and entertainment.